We go in peace to love and serve the Lord! Response: Alleluia! Christ is risen!

1. Why Easter Matters!

2. When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his
disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other
side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went
into it.
Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place,
because Jesus had often met there with his
disciples So Judas came to the garden, guiding a
detachment of soldiers and some officials from the
chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying
torches, lanterns and weapons.

3. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him,
went out and asked them, “Who is it you
want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was
standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am
he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.

4. Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you
are looking for me, then let these men go.” This
happened so that the words he had spoken would
be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave
me.”

5. Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and
struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right
ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)
Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall
I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”
John 18:1-11 (NIV)

6. Why Easter
Matters!

7. The Greatest Claim Ever Made!
“I and the Father are one.” John 10:30
Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I Am!” John 8:58
“Don’t you know me? Anyone who has seen me has seen
the Father.” Jn 14:9

8. Michka:
That’s a great idea, no denying it. Christ has his
rank among the world’s great thinkers. But Son of
God, isn’t that farfetched?

9. Bono:
No, it’s not farfetched to me. The secular response
to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a
great prophet, had a lot to say along the lines of
other great thinkers, like Elijah, Muhammad,
Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn’t
allow you that. He doesn’t let you off that hook.

10. Christ says: No. I’m not saying I’m a teacher, don’t
call me teacher. I’m not saying I’m a prophet. I’m
saying: “I’m the Messiah.” I’m saying: “I am God
incarnate.” And people say: No, no, please, just be
a prophet. A prophet, we can take. But God in flesh
is simply outrageous!

11. So what you’re left with is this: either Christ was
who He said He was the Messiah or a complete
nutcase. I mean, we’re talking nutcase on the level
of Charles Manson.
I’m not joking here. The idea that the entire
course of civilization for over half of the globe
could have its fate changed and turned upside-
down by a nutcase, for me, that’s farfetched.

12. The Greatest Problem Ever Faced
“Woe is me! For I am undone because I am a man of
unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of
unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of
Hosts.” Isaiah 6:5

13. The Greatest Sacrifice Ever Offered
“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take
from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath
and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.
When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because
of the sword I will send among them. To make them a ruin
and an object of horror and scorn, a curse.” Jer. 25:15-18

14. The Greatest Sacrifice Ever Offered
“They will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has
been poured full strength into the cup of
his wrath.” Rev. 14:10

15. The Greatest Purpose in Life
“So here’s what I want you to do, with God’s help:
Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping,
eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—
and place it before God as an offering. Embracing
what God does for you is the best thing you can do
for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your
culture that you fit into it without even thinking.
Instead, fix your attention on God.”
Romans 12:1-2 (Message)

16. We don’t go to church because we have it all
together
We go to church to get it all together!

18. Leader:
What are we to make of this day?
When graves are opened...
When the dead awaken...
When life refuses to be contained...

19. Response:
Then nothing is impossible!
Hope is never destroyed and
Love is never conquered.

20. Pastor:
We celebrate today, Almighty God, because You
have made it clear that death does not have the
last word;
Because You have filled us again with hope and
faith and courage;
Because You have united us as one Body, rooted
in the community of saints, and given us the
ministry of reconciliation.

21. Response:
Open our minds to believe what we cannot explain
Open our hearts to hope for what we cannot see;
Open our hands to do what must be done to bring
light and love to the world.
Let Resurrection Life fill us today and always!

22. Leader:
Almighty God, resurrection is not what we expect
in our world. On the face of things, life seems to
be under threat... bombing in Belgium, starvation
in Africa and war in the middle east. Our earth is
broken, our families are falling apart, our nation is
a political battleground, and the light of our
future is growing dim.
Response:
We need the stone to be rolled away again.

23. Leader:
Forgive us and all who have failed to honor and
celebrate life, mercy and compassion. Forgive us
and all who have allowed relationships to become
less important than riches or recognition. Forgive
us and all who continue to exalt our needs and
desires over those of others, and who are
prepared to kill to prove it. Forgive us and all who
have grown blind to all the signs of resurrection
that beckon us still to receive Christ.

24. Response:
We need the stone to be rolled away again.
We need life to break out within us again.
We need love to consume us again.
Resurrect us today, O Lord, and make us agents
of life wherever despair and loneliness hold
people captive, for Jesus sake. Amen.

25. Leader: Christ the Lord is risen today!
Response: He is risen indeed!

26. Leader: Let's celebrate this irrepressible life; let's
open our hearts to the joy and wonder of
infinite possibility, of unquenchable hope,
of eternal and everlasting resurrection.
Response: We celebrate, we raise our voices and our
hearts in worship and thanksgiving to the
God who lives.

27. Leader: Resurrection happened because Christ was
first prepared to die for us. Defying death, He
refused to release His hold on life and love. So
now, as He encouraged us, we choose to
remember Him so that we too can truly live in
Him. On the night before He died Jesus took
bread and blessed it. Then He broke it and gave
it to His disciples saying:

28. pastor: This is my body, broken so that you may be
forgiven. Eat it and remember Me.
After the meal Jesus took a cup and blessed it.
Then He gave it to His disciples saying:
This is my blood, shed so that you may know
life. Drink it and remember Me.

29. Leader: So, now, Lord of Life, we share in this
sacrament of grace, we celebrate together,
and we remember You. And we will
continue to do this until resurrection has
flooded the whole earth.
Response:
Amen.

30. Leader: May this bread and this cup become for
us in this moment your life-giving body and
blood, and may we who share this meal, be
united with you, and with one another, in
mission and ministry to do all that we can to
bring your life to the world.
Response:
Amen.

32. Leader: We thank You, O God, for Your life, revealed
in Jesus, renewed in resurrection and available to
us now.
Response: Thank You for touching us again with Your
life through bread and wine; For joining our
lives with Yours through Jesus; And for renewing
our hearts through your Holy Spirit.

33. Leader:
Filled with life, we now offer ourselves to be
life-bringers in the world. Touched by
resurrection we pledge to confront despair death
wherever we find it. Filled with hope we embrace
the call to go and make Jesus known at every
opportunity.